Prosecution rests in murder trial

Monday

Feb 3, 2014 at 6:00 AMFeb 3, 2014 at 7:44 PM

By Gary V. Murray TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER — The prosecution in the Julie Corey murder trial rested its case today after spending six days offering testimony and physical evidence intended to prove that Ms. Corey killed pregnant Darlene Haynes in 2009 and cut the baby from her womb before being found with the newborn at a homeless shelter in New Hampshire.

Among the last witnesses called to the stand by Assistant District Attorney Daniel J. Bennett was Kim Bonner, a DNA analyst at the state police crime lab. Ms. Bonner testified that a DNA profile matching Ms. Corey's was found on a Smirnoff Ice malt beverage bottle recovered by police in the living room of Ms. Haynes' apartment at 94 Southgate St.

The 23-year-old victim's decomposed body was discovered in her bedroom closet on July 27, 2009. An autopsy showed that she died from multiple blunt head trauma causing skull fractures, ligature asphyxiation and a 9-inch incision in her abdomen.

Eight months pregnant at the time of her death, Ms. Haynes was found with her reproductive organs and the fetus missing. Two days after the body was found, Ms. Corey and her then-boyfriend, Alex Dion, arrived at a homeless shelter in Plymouth, N.H., with a baby girl later determined to be the child of Ms. Haynes and her ex-boyfriend, Roberto C. "Tito" Rodriguez.

While Ms. Corey's lawyers do not dispute that she was found with Ms. Haynes' baby, they contend she played no role in the slaying. They allege that the police investigation into the homicide was flawed and that investigators failed to follow up on leads that could have led them to the person or persons responsible for Ms. Haynes' death.

Ms. Bonner also testified that a DNA profile from a piece of tape found in a first-aid kit in Ms. Haynes' apartment contained a mixture of at least two individuals' DNA. The DNA profile of Ms. Haynes' baby girl matched the major profile and Mr. Rodriguez was included as a potential contributor of the minor profile, according to Ms. Bonner.

Mr. Rodriguez had lived with Ms. Haynes in the Southgate Street apartment, but she obtained a restraining order against him after he allegedly assaulted her about a month before she was killed.

Ms. Corey's lawyers, Louis P. Aloise, Michael C. Wilcox and Christine Martin, have asserted a so-called "third-party culprit" defense in the case, allowing them to introduce evidence to suggest that Mr. Rodriguez was a potential suspect in the killing.

Under cross-examination by Mr. Aloise last week, Mr. Dion denied the defense lawyer's suggestion that Mr. Rodriguez gave him and Ms. Corey the baby.

Prosecutors say Ms. Corey gave Ms. Haynes a ride to the package store on the night of July 23, 2009, and was the last person seen with Ms. Haynes before her body was discovered,. Police said they were able to determine that Ms. Haynes bought two Smirnoff Ice malt beverages at the package store before returning home.

A second malt beverage bottle found in Ms. Haynes' bedroom had Ms. Haynes' DNA on it, according to Ms. Bonner.

The first defense witness called in the case was Shiane Spencer, who testified that on the night of July 23, 2009, she was visiting her cousin, Crystal Mercado, who lived in the apartment directly across from Ms. Haynes' at 94 Southgate St. Ms. Spencer testified that she heard "banging" in Ms. Haynes apartment between 2 and 2:30 a.m. on July 24, 2009, and then heard water running "off and on" in the apartment from about 3 a.m. to about 4 a.m.

Ms. Spencer also told the jury that on the night of July 24, 2009, she looked out the window of Ms. Mercado's apartment and saw someone climbing into a window in Ms. Haynes' apartment. She said she did not see the person's face and did not know whether it was a man or a woman.

On Sunday, July 25, 2009, Ms. Spencer said she was still a guest in her cousin's apartment when she heard someone in the front hallway. When she went to investigate, she said, she saw a man standing in the doorway of Ms. Haynes' apartment.

In response to her questions about what he was doing there, the man said Ms. Haynes was not home and had given him permission to remove a fish tank from the apartment, according to Ms. Spencer. Ms. Spencer said she knew Ms. Haynes was being evicted from the apartment and testified that she told the man Ms. Haynes had offered Ms. Mercado her kitchen table.

Ms. Spencer said she tried to enter the apartment to check out the condition of the table, but that the man prevented her from doing so.

Mr. Rodriguez's wife, Ana Rodriguez, was also called as a defense witness today.

Under questioning by lawyer Christine Martin, Ms. Rodriguez said she and Mr. Rodriguez went to City Hall to apply for a marriage license the day Ms. Haynes' body was found.

The two were married on Aug. 17, 2009, and the child cut from Ms. Haynes' body, now 4 years old, lives with them, along with Ms. Rodriguez's two daughters.

Under cross-examination by Mr. Bennett, Ms. Rodriguez said she has had no domestic problems with Mr. Rodriguez during the course of their marriage.